


Constant

by Briana_Dubs



Category: Naruto, boruto(kind of)
Genre: GaaLee, I love him, Kazekage Gaara, LeeGaa, M/M, ends with the boys and their babies, i love both of them who am i kidding, i love the gaara and lee dynamic, i only rewatched naruto for rock lee how did this happen, rock lee is beautiful, second time writing for these two, shrugs, soulmate!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 08:35:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10918194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briana_Dubs/pseuds/Briana_Dubs
Summary: Nobody prompted me to, but I love the AU where every word your soulmate says shows up on your skin somewhere.So I wrote out a bunch of moments in the lives of Gaara and Rock Lee. Canon moments and non-canon.It's a lot of me hoping for what their relationship could have been.





	Constant

                Everyone grew up in the ninja world knowing about soulmates. Every word they said, bar their own name, appeared on your skin starting usually from the moment they could talk. As well as the other way around. Almost everyone lived their lives with words crawling up and down and across their bodies.

                They had been a constant in his life since he was seven years old. At first Rock Lee hadn’t been able to believe it. All of his classmates had teased him relentlessly for months before they finally appeared.

                “You’re never gonna have a soulmate! I already have my soulmate’s words showing up! You still don’t have anything! You’re a loser who can’t even perform a lousy transformation! Who would ever want to be with a loser like you? You’re gonna be alone forever! Dork!”

                He woke one morning to a strange itch on his right arm and when he rolled up his sleeve there were words scrawled across his skin. It took him a moment to register just what they were.

                “Good morning, Yashamaru!” he read aloud to himself and his empty room. He ran his fingers over the black marks and he realized. His soulmate! These were his soulmate’s words! They finally had shown up! He had just been a late bloomer! Once he understood, he quickly scrambled to his little feet and stripped out of his clothes to see if there were any more words. He even checked himself over in the mirror, but so far the sentence on his arm was it.

                Smiling, he looked at the words on his arm. “Hello,” he said. He waited for a while to see if he would get a response. After a few minutes his leg had that same itch and he quickly looked.

_“Yashamaru, what’s for breakfast?”_

                Now Lee huffed to himself. It seemed his soulmate wasn’t getting his words. He had learned that it was different for everyone, so he would just have to stay persistent and hope that eventually a sentence questioning who he was would make itself visible.

                His classmates couldn’t believe it. When he showed them he already had a few more sentences on his skin and the original two were beginning to fade.

_“Yashamaru, why is the sky blue?”_

_“Hey, Yashamaru, can we go outside to play?”_

_“It’s so sunny today.”_

                The other kids had stared at the words for a long time in silence. Finally one of them asked, “How do we know you didn’t just fake those?”

                Rock Lee pouted at the other kids and furrowed his big black eyebrows. “Because I already have two more fading away! I would never fake something so important!” The class had ignored that and continued to say he was faking it. No matter how hard he tried, Rock Lee couldn’t convince them he was being truly genuine. He didn’t really care, though, because he was able to find joy in seeing the things his soulmate was saying.

_“It doesn’t matter what I do, the sand just gets in the way.”_

_“Yashamaru!”_

_“I’m sorry.”_

_“The wound you got, does it hurt?”_

_“Yashamaru, do you… do you not like me? Like the others…?”_

_“Thanks a lot!”_

_“I know I’m not bleeding, but lately I’ve felt a lot of pain here.”_

_“A wound to the heart?”_

_“So then, what am I supposed to do?”_

_“Love?”_

_“It tastes like iron.”_

                Lee was watching the words flow over his skin all night one night. He didn’t understand what was going on, his soulmate had never been so talkative. He couldn’t tell if the conversation was good or bad. Whoever this Yashamaru was, obviously they were very important to his soulmate.

_“Hey, Yashamaru, I have a favor to ask!”_

_“Sorry about earlier, I know it must have hurt, I brought you some medicine if you want…”_

_“Yashamaru…”_

_“Who are you? What do you want?”_

_“Yashamaru…!”_

                The same name was being said again now. And this time, the words hurt as they scribbled across his skin. They stung and left a throbbing soreness in their wake. What was happening? He had been lying in bed, but there was no way he could sleep. Not with the way their words were hurting him. Did this mean his soulmate was in pain? He tried calling out to them, hoping maybe they would see his words. He wanted to help. He didn’t even know who they were, but they were his soulmate. He didn’t want them to be hurting.

_“Why? Why, Yashamaru? Why did you do it? I don’t understand…”_

_“Tell me why…”_

_“I thought, Yashamaru... If I’m precious to you… How could you?”_

_“My father?”_

_“Why me? Why would my father?”_

_“You had to obey my father, you didn’t have any choice…”_

_“I understand now… I’m alone… I’m all alone. I am all that matters.”_

                Then the words from his soulmate became less and less frequent and more and more harsh and cold.

_“Shut up or I’ll kill you.”_

_“Stay out of my way.”_

_“Worthless.”_

_“Sand coffin.”_

_“Sand burial.”_

_“I’ll kill you all.”_

                Lee worried over his soulmate. Something had changed in them. He couldn’t understand it, but obviously something had changed. He had tried calling out to them many times, but nothing he ever did seemed to be working. Years went by. Did his soulmate truly not feel his words? Years of his soulmate’s angry, harsh, murderous words and never any sign that his words were getting through. He never made a difference.

                All at once Lee felt that familiar itching across his chest. It took him some work to adjust his jumpsuit, but the words were upside-down. Since his team had been training, Lee called TenTen over to read what it said for him.

                “Uh, it looks like it says Kankuro… back off, and um… You’re an embarrassment.” She looked up at Lee’s face after that. “Is this your soulmate talking again?”

                Lee frowned at the words across his chest. “It is, but I’ve never seen them say that name before… I wonder who it is.” It was after that moment that Guy sensei came to interrupt their talking with an announcement.

                “The chunin exams are going to start in one week! My most youthful students, would you like to participate this year!? You can face so many shinobi from other villages and you can show your fellow leaf genin your fighting spirit!”

                Of course they had all been excited for the idea, but a thought crossed Lee’s mind pretty quickly. Ninja from other villages… He had never been able to find his soulmate here in the village, and they often talked about sand… Maybe his soulmate was from the sand village? It made sense.

                “Guy sensei,” he asked after they had finished talking, “Will there be shinobi from the Sand Village participating?”

                “Of course! The land of fire and the land of wind are allies, after all! I’m sure there are already some of them here in the village! The sand shinobi are usually tough as nails! Be on your guard!”

\-----`---------`-------

                Gaara had always felt an itch under his sand armor, but had never paid it any mind. Discomfort wasn’t anything that worried him. He already knew he wasn’t going to have a soulmate. If anything, it was his own words scratching into his skin when he felt that itch. He lived only for himself, no one else mattered.

                He fought and killed as he pleased. His sand armor shielded him constantly. No one ever broke through it. He spent his whole life untouched and uninjured.

                It remained that way until the Chunin exams. All the way until the preliminary fights before the third part of the exams. His opponent had been so fast. His sand couldn’t keep up. His defenses were penetrated and for the first time in his life, Gaara felt physical pain. He crushed the older boy’s arm and leg and won the match. It had meant nothing to him. What had really gotten to him was that boy’s master… He protected him and said he was precious to him. It made his head hurt and spin.

                He had retired to his room where he and his siblings were staying during the exams. They were supposed to be keeping a watch on him. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere…

                Pain in his torso flared and made him wince. Right… The fight from before… He let his armor fall off to observe what he already guessed were bruises. He hadn’t been able to keep up, several of those hits must have gotten through. He hated pain. He hated this. He hated that kid.

                When his skin was bared, Gaara twitched violently and his eyes widened looking down at himself. His skin was black and blue and purple all over. He felt his head throb. Bruises. Physical signs of pain. He felt a scream building in his throat.

                The scream stopped fast. What was that…? Even with his skin being so marred, he could clearly see them. Words. Lots and lots of words. Quite a few sentences overlapping and quite a few faded to the point he could barely make any of them out.

_“Why are you in such a hurry?”_

_“Okay, you asked for it.”_

_“You are right. It is over. One way or another.”_

                No. Gaara had heard those words. He had heard them today.

                No.

                No.

                No!

_“The third gate, gate of life- Open!”_

                Now Gaara truly did scream. His siblings were at the door in an instant, but he held his head and shrieked without ever noticing they were there. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew his sand had moved and his siblings were thrown away from him, but all he could think, all he could feel right now was pain and confusion. Absolute agony.

                For days he remained locked away in his room, staring in disbelief at his own body. His throat felt tight. The bruises were healing, but looking at them still made his head throb and Shukaku scream from inside him. And it only got worse.

                His eyes went wide as a new word etched its way across his leg.

_“One.”_

_“Two.”_

                Gaara felt that urge to scream again. He was counting. He was counting aloud. How? After what he did that boy should be unconscious for a month. How? Why?

_“498. Keep away from me!”_

                His fingers reached to touch the words. He couldn’t understand. He knew what this meant, seeing another’s words on his skin, but he couldn’t… He was a monster. Monsters didn’t have soulmates.

_“Have to finish my training. Please do not interfere.”_

_“Just one more.”_

_“Just one more!”_

                And that was the last Gaara saw. But he stared at and reread each word over and over again every day for a week. He didn’t eat, he didn’t move, he didn’t ever take his eyes away until all the words had faded from his skin. But he could still see them. He could still hear them in his head over and over again.

                A trick. It had to be a trick. That boy had done something. It was his fault. It was because of him. That stupid taijutsu specialist. That kid. It was all his fault. Gaara could see him in his mind. He could picture him saying those words. He wanted to kill him. He needed him out of his head.

                He would kill him. He was going to the hospital. He was going to get rid of him. If that boy was dead there would be no more words. No more lies staining his skin. No more. No more. He was going to kill him.

\-----`---------`------- 

                When Lee finally woke up, of course he was sore and tired. He was so thankful to Guy Sensei for offering to walk him to the final rounds. Guy sensei didn’t pity him too much openly. He was thankful. He couldn’t handle it if his sensei looked at him like he was the saddest thing in the world.

                “You ready Lee?”

                Taking his crutch, he forced himself to his feet. “Yes, Guy sensei,” he answered. Immediately he felt a stinging itch on his collar bone. He looked down at it and frowned. He could read it already, even from upside-down.

_“Shut up.”_

                He frowned at it. So his soulmate heard him that time… He didn’t like to think about it, but he had figured out who it was the minute he felt the itch work in time with his words. And hearing those two horrible words he had read on his own skin multiple times. They had been there more often than any other words.

                “Sand coffin.”

                His soulmate was the one who had crushed his arm and leg. The one who caused him to completely black out with pain. His soulmate was… Gaara…

                What was he supposed to do? His soulmate had nearly killed him. Not exactly romantic.

                He would just have to brush it off and ignore it. No one ever said he had to end up with his soulmate in the end, right? He had found Sakura incredibly attractive. Maybe he could get lucky and end up with someone better than his soulmate. He needed to go see the final matches. He wasn’t going to miss it.

                The match between Sasuke and Gaara had given Lee lots more words itching and stinging across his body. And when Gaara screamed, Lee felt like he was being stabbed and sliced into. Of all the words Gaara had ever said, those words hurt more than any other. “It’s my blood!” was scratched messily all the way down his back.

                Suddenly Lee was being woken up by the others. The arena was in shambles. What had happened while he was unconscious?

                He was trying to get to his feet, but stopped at a soft feeling on his right arm. Carefully adjusting his robes and bandages, he saw two words that made a small smile spread across his face.

_“I’m sorry.”_

\-----`---------`-------

                When Lee was recovering he tried talking to Gaara every now and then through the words that appeared on their flesh. At first his nurses had been confused by it, but when he showed them the extensive amounts of words spread all across his body, they understood.

                “I’m surprised, actually,” one nurse said, “Usually even if it is your soulmate you don’t get every single insignificant word they ever say showing up for such a long time.”

                Lee looked up at the young woman and then back at his arm where a sentence was already forming. Gaara was apparently talking to his siblings. “I wonder why that is…”

                “Do you know who your soulmate is? Have you met them?”

                A tiny, bittersweet smile crossed Rock Lee’s face then. “They told you who crushed my arm and leg right?” The nurse nodded and so Lee said, “Well, that’s who it is.”

                She gasped, hand going up in front of her mouth. “I’m so sorry! Does he not want you? Is that why he did this to you?”

                Lee shook his head and put his right hand up. “Oh, no, nothing like that. It was a battle. We were pitted against one another. It is not his fault. He was just trying to continue to the final round of the chuunin exams.”

                “Still,” his nurse huffed, “That’s quite an awful injury to give your own soulmate.”

                Tsunade coming to the village to look at his injuries did not do much to quell Lee’s nerves. He had been training every day, ignoring orders from doctors, simply because sitting around doing nothing put him on edge. Reading the conversations Gaara was having only occupied him for so long. He needed to move.

                But now… Now he was worried and frightened. A fifty percent chance he could die? What was he supposed to do?

                He had spent a lot of time alone. Crying, not crying, watching other people walk by, and watching nothing at all in particular. Only after a tearful discussion with Guy Sensei did Lee finally remember himself and find his strength again. He had the surgery and it was successful. He was okay and he was alive. The first person he saw when he woke was his sensei.

                “How are you feeling, Lee?” he had asked, taking hold of his hand.

                His voice was weak and raspy, but he managed to answer, “The surgery was a success, sensei.”

                “Yes, yes, Lee, it was,” Guy was already starting to cry, “My boy, you did it! I knew you would be okay!” Now he was all out sobbing. Lee didn’t have the energy to cry with him. He stayed awake for a few more hours before he fell asleep again.

                He should have stayed to recover longer, he knew he should have, but when he heard that Sasuke had been taken from the village and his friends were going to help try and retrieve him, of course he stole out of the hospital. He had to help. He was not going to lay around useless.

\-----`---------`-------

                Gaara rolled his eyes. He could feel another bout of itching going across his skin. He allowed his sand armor to shift so that he could see what it was Rock Lee was yelling about now.

_“What are you staring at you stupid jerk?”_

                He narrowed his eyes at the words. He had split up from Temari and Kankuro ages ago. They were following chakra that they had sensed simply because they had heard of the Leaf’s plight and were in the area. If they could help, they would.

_“Don’t move, Bonesy!”_

                Now Gaara was definitely confused.

_“What is wrong with you? Do you know how impolite it is to stare?”_

_“Not too shabby!”_

_“Boy, all this jumping around is totally messing with my head here. I’m okay, though!”_

_“Hey, wait a second, what am I doing here? Where am I? What’s going on here?”_

                Confused was an understatement by this point. Gaara was absolutely bewildered and concerned by the incoherent sentences scribbling across his skin. He had been ignoring them for ages, but Temari had spotted the black marks all over his arm when he was reading them and she had immediately begun asking. Even though he had covered them again with his armor and never answered her, she knew. She had told Kankuro. They had both asked him if he knew who it was. Neither had said the word soulmate, they had just asked who. He refused to answer.

                The two of them… He was thankful they were starting to fear him less, but the two of them acted as if knowing whose words were showing up on his skin was the most important thing in the world.

                Finally he reached the chakra signatures he had sensed. Why was he not surprised to find the green leaf ninja was there…?

\-----`---------`-------

                The entire fight had left Lee tingling. So many new words painting his body as he and Gaara worked together… Each sentence directed at him had made goosebumps ripple across his flesh. He wondered if it felt the same when he praised Gaara and his abilities. Surely it must have. If just having Gaara tell him that he was in no condition was enough to send a shiver up Lee’s spine, he could only imagine how it felt to have someone saying their work and their skill was amazing. It must have felt like a happy buzzing under the skin.

                And now that they were sitting together and talking…

                “You have someone in your life whom you honor and revere so much that every hurt inflicted on them is inflicted on you as well… And the closer they are to you, the greater the pain…” Gaara looked down at the ground as he sat beside Lee. “To feel so strongly for someone that you would fight for them… And die for them… You and Naruto Uzumaki have that in common.”

                Lee was startled by the comparison. He and Naruto were alike? He had heard Naruto had fought Gaara when he was unconscious, but he didn’t realize…

                “However, what if this person you honor and even die for is not a virtuous person?”

                “Impossible!” Lee argued, “Such a person wo-would be unworthy of either honor or respect!”

                “No?” Gaara didn’t look at him, “Perhaps the companionship of even an evil person is preferable to loneliness.” Lee shivered again as those words spread across his right thigh in time with Gaara talking. Absently, he rubbed at where he felt them.

                He sat there quietly thinking of what Gaara had just said. The companionhip of an evil person…? He supposed that made sense.

                “If I had someone who cared for me in my youth, no matter what kind of person they truly were,” Gaara said again, voice quiet, “I can’t say I would have turned them away.”

                Lee grimaced a little as he listened to him. He had seen well enough the change in Gaara with his words.

                “What happened?” he found himself asking. Gaara finally turned his head to look at him, but didn’t answer. He looked as though he hadn’t quite understood the question. “I… Well, I suppose what I mean is… I had started seeing your words when I was seven.” Gaara’s eyes narrowed, but he still remained silent. “At first all you seemed to talk about was someone named Yashamaru.” Gaara looked away from him again, shoulders tense by his neck. “You seemed happy enough, but suddenly you started saying less and less, and the things you were saying were cruel and cold. Was that when your loneliness started?”

                Gaara was looking at the ground now. “Since you were seven, huh…?” he clenched his fists. “Did you ever try to talk to me?” Lee nodded beside him. “I wish I had seen that… I wish I had seen your words back then… Perhaps if I had not been totally alone I would not have fallen so far into the darkness.”

                Lee set his hand on Gaara’s arm. “Maybe so,” he said, smiling ever so slightly, “But at least you are finally out of the darkness now. And you’re far from alone. You have your brother and your sister and you have Naruto and you have me.”

                A single, small laugh left Gaara’s lips. It almost sounded like a quick exhale. “I’m sorry you ended up with a monster for a soulmate.”

                “You are not a monster!” Lee jumped forward, grabbing Gaara’s hand in his own, “You are an excellent and powerful shinobi who has made some bad decisions, but you are far from a monster!” He felt Gaara shiver in his grasp. “I am honored to have a soulmate as formidable and admirable as you!”

                Gaara smiled at him then. Only a small one, but it warmed Lee’s heart to see. “You’re strange,” he said, “But someday I hope to become someone equal to you. Someone precious instead of feared. Maybe then I’ll be worthy of you and can look at you without feeling such guilt.”

                Lee had beamed at him and held his hand tight for what surely was hours after that. Gaara had to help walk him back to the village after that. He was still far too drained of chakra and energy and Lee was in no shape to walk on his own.

\-----`---------`-------

                They each only had a few brief moments together when the Artisan ninjas attacked and kidnapped his student, but those moments were wonderful. Lee had been able to repay what Gaara had done for him when facing off against Kimmimaro. He had saved him when he couldn’t save himself and kept him from fighting when he wasn’t in shape to do so. He had set him down and promised him that he would do his best to protect him.

                Naruto and Gaara had talked more than the two of them had, but Lee understood. They were the same. They had a bond already. He and Gaara were still working on theirs. He was just happy to help his friend.

                Gaara had seen a few letters on his fingers and stopped Lee before he went to fight. He let him go after brushing his fingertips across them.

                When Lee had gotten knocked down after his opponent struck his previously injured leg, Gaara had been quick to kill him. Lee couldn’t help but be grateful and impressed, if not a little worried by Gaara’s continuous ease with killing. Sakura had wanted him to stay and rest, but Lee quickly argued that he couldn’t leave Gaara. He was important to him. He wasn’t running away. From any of this.

\-----`---------`-------

                During the second Chuunin exams held in the sand village, Lee hadn’t been able to contain his joy at seeing Gaara again. He was Kazekage now, so he didn’t get to run up and greet him like he had wanted, but he had stayed up at night talking to him for hours through the words on their skin.

                “It’s so good to see you!” Lee had said aloud, though in a whisper since Tenten and Neji were already asleep. “Congratulations on becoming Kazekage!”

_“Shouldn’t you be asleep? You have a lot to prepare for tomorrow.”_

                Lee grinned at the words on the back of his wrist. “I knew you would be awake, and since I didn’t get to properly greet you before, I thought this would be the best way to talk!”

_“Go to bed.”_

                The Leaf Ninja groaned. “Is it improper for you to wish me good luck?”

                The next response took a little while. Gaara was hesitating. Lee smiled.

_“Only aloud and in public.”_

_“Good luck tomorrow.”_

\-----`---------`-------

                When it happened Lee felt like someone had reached into his body and ripped his heart clean out. He had never felt a hurt quite like that. Even getting his arm and leg crushed or opening the gates and having his muscles shredded was a cakewalk compared to the feeling. He didn’t understand it at all at first. He had just been helping the others. They were supposed to save Gaara. He didn’t realize just what his pain meant until he was fighting his clone and had caught sight of his left arm when his jumpsuit tore. Where there had been words now was blank.

                No.

                No!

                He had ripped it away further and saw that all the words that had previously been littering his arm were gone. His eyes went wide and he dropped to his knees and screamed.

                “Lee? Lee what’s going on?” Guy Sensei was asking in his ear, but Lee could’t bring himself to answer. He couldn’t do anything, even as his clone attacked him and kicked him again and again. Gaara’s words had all vanished.

                Gaara was dead.

\-----`---------`-------

                No one knew yet whose words had always been painting his skin. Gaara had never told anyone, even after all this time. It was a topic that still left him feeling nervous and doubtful. So of course no one had understood why his goodbye hug with Lee had been so long and full of tears. Well, the tears were normal for Lee, but the few tears Gaara had shed had shocked the others. Even his goodbye with Naruto hadn’t been like that.

                “I am so glad you are all right,” Lee had said between his sobs, “I promise to write to you every chance I get!”

                Gaara had given him a small pat on the back. “I look forward to it,” he said. His voice was weak, and Lee was probably the only one who heard what he said, but he was fine with that.

                Once the Leaf shinobi had been out of sight, Temari had turned her eye on him.

                “It’s him isn’t it?”

                He looked back to where he had seen Lee last. “Yeah…” he replied, “Yeah, it is…”

                Kankuro looked back and forth between his siblings, completely lost. “What? Who is? What’s going on?”

                Temari gave him a playful pap to the back of the head. “The green one is Gaara’s soulmate, you idiot, geeze, don’t you ever listen?”

                “THE GREEN ONE?!”

\-----`---------`-------

                Lee had shivered and trembled during Gaara’s speech. Even if his words weren’t crawling across his skin as the redhead spoke, the speech still would have left him out of breath. Gaara had grown so mature. He was so good with words. In a way it reminded Lee of Guy Sensei, just less energetic and hyper. It was inspiring, but in a calmer, more stoic sort of way.

                Gaara had said he wanted to grow into someone people needed. Well, now he had an entire army that needed him. As the crowd cheered, Lee whispered to the one who would see his words.

                “You’re incredible.”

                Lee watched the red haired Nin shift and slide his left sleeve up. He smiled up at him when those pale, icy eyes slid to where he stood in the crowd. Those dark rings around his eyes were great for telling where he was looking from a distance. Lee hoped once this war was over he could tell Gaara how much he liked them.

                Of course, he didn’t expect the war would be so horribly taxing. He wished he could have done more. Guy sensei had done so much and Lee felt like he just stood by and watched. He tried so hard to be useful. He tried to help fight, he took out as many enemies as he could. But he still felt just as useless as he did back when he was recovering. It made him want to scream. It seemed like every time he tried to help he came too late or he didn’t have the ability to do enough.

                Once Guy was being tended to by medics, he essentially shut himself off. Lee couldn’t stop Kimmimaro on his own, he couldn’t recover without Tsunade’s help, he couldn’t save Gaara from the Akatsuki, he couldn’t save Neji, he couldn’t save Gaara from his loneliness until after Naruto had already done it, and he couldn’t save Guy Sensei now. He couldn’t do anything on his own. Gaara wanted to be worthy of him? Hah. What a joke.

                He rolled his sleeve up when he felt the itch of said red head speaking.

_“Where’s Lee?”_

                He groaned and buried his face in his knees. Things had been going so well. Lee had never been all that positive before Guy Sensei found him. Was this just him reverting without his beloved sensei? Maybe it was. Maybe he was just overreacting.

                A soft itch accompanied the voice that came around the root Lee had hidden himself behind. “Lee, what are you doing?”

                He didn’t look up, just hugged his knees tighter. “Hey Gaara,” he greeted, staring off at the rocks ahead.

                He felt the shift in the air as the Kazekage sat beside him. “You didn’t answer my question.”

                Sighing, Lee turned his head away from him. “I am just thinking. No need to worry yourself.”

                “Any time I don’t see you shouting about youth I worry,” Gaara said, “Something’s upset you.”

                When Lee didn’t reply, he felt Gaara put a hand on his shoulder. “Tell me about it.”

                Slowly he turned his head back to look at Gaara, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He waited a moment to just look at Gaara before he would reply. It had been so long since they both sat together like this. It had been two years, maybe more, since that fight with Kimmimaro.

                “You remember the talk we had after we fought bone man?”

                “Of course I do,” Gaara replied.

                Lee stared unblinking, ignoring the sting in his eyes. “We talked about loneliness… How people would prefer evil companionship and precious people…”

                “I know. I remember.”

                “I’m sorry I could not save you from yours,” he whispered, finally looking away from him, “The truth is, I do not know how to save anyone. I’m only the way I am because Guy Sensei saved me. I try to be like Guy sensei and be positive and work as hard as I can, but there are times where I feel all my efforts are false and completely hopeless.”

                “Times like now…”

                Lee nodded weakly at Gaara’s comment. “I try so hard, but I am not enough on my own. I have never been enough. A loser who can only use Taijutsu who cannot even stop his friend from dying.” Tears were rolling freely down his cheeks now. “I cannot even remain positive if my Sensei is injured. You wished to be worthy of me, but in truth it is I who is unworthy of you, Gaara.”

                “Lee…”

                “You are able to do so many incredible things. You have such incredible gifts and such talent. You do not need anyone to inspire you, in fact you inspire others. You’re the youngest Kage in history. Next to you I am no one.”

                The hand on his shoulder pressed down and rubbed back and forth. “Lee,” Gaara started, “Look at me.” Once Lee’s watery eyes were on him, Gaara spoke. “You are not no one.” Now Lee looked away again and the tears fell harder.

                “You are one of the few people on this earth who can open more than one of the chakra gates. You are one of three who have been able to open more than five. You are a high level jounin and an incredible taijutsu specialist. You were the first person to ever land a hit on me. To ever injure me.” Lee blinked and his pupils moved to look at Gaara, but his head remained stationary. “After our fight I was black and blue for nearly a month. I screamed so bad when I saw the bruises that Kankuro and Temari thought I was changing into Shukaku.”

                Lee looked away again.

                “I’m sure you saw me talking about it… I abolished a law in the sand because of you.” Lee nodded. He remembered that. It was shortly after Gaara had become Kazekage. Gaara had been telling someone about him and had called him a splendid ninja. He learned who it was later and considered Shira a rival.

                “And I’m sure you saw me look at what you said after my speech.” Lee pulled his knees up closer. “I always made a point to look at whatever words you said once I figured out what that itch meant. I found comfort in seeing that you were happy and as talkative as ever.” Lee’s cheeks heated and the tears flowed out more forcefully. “Perhaps you did not influence or inspire an entire army, but you did inspire me. Every time I saw that you were happy and training it made me understand more and more that things can change. Even after I had hurt you, you still pushed ahead and bettered yourself. It made me realize that fears my people had for me were just hardships to work past. The fears seemed like trivialities compared to the hurt I inflicted upon you.”

                “I’m not angry about it,” Lee said, voice quiet.

                “Even further proof that you are special,” Gaara said, squeezing Lee’s shoulder, “Anyone else would have been. Anyone else would have hated me and held a grudge for the rest of their lives, even if they had been my soulmate. And I would not have blamed them for it.”

                “Lee,” Gaara moved his hand to Lee’s other shoulder, pulling him closer to him, “You amaze me.” Lee let out a choked sob and tried to move away from Gaara. But he held strong. “You were the first person to reach me. I felt pain for the first time in years because of you. You brought the human feeling of pain back to me and your kind heart and understanding saved me from the monster I was. You may say Naruto saved me, but he only started the process. The one who cemented my decision to change was you. You, who had every reason to hate me and wish ill of me. You, who found no fault in me and praised me after everything I had done to you. You, who saw the good in a broken soul like me.”

                “You made an effort to speak to me after that fight. You made an effort to be a constant presence in my life. Once you learned of my loneliness you made the effort to save me from it. It is more than anyone else had ever done for me. I owe you so much and I only wish I had looked to see your words and your kindness sooner.”

\-----`---------`-------

                Gaara had been tending to his cacti in his office when he was summoned to the Leaf village. Kakashi was calling a Five Kage Summit. He had been surprised to hear of Naruto’s marriage while he was there, especially considering Temari had been there just recently. He shouldn’t have been so surprised, though, now that he thought of it. He had seen Lee talking about getting a wedding gift. He just hadn’t realized it was for Naruto.

                He had felt the soft tingling as he heard the slightly muffled shouting of Rock Lee. “Gaara! It’s been too long, my friend!”

                Lee threw the door to the room he and his siblings were sharing open and Gaara smiled up at him. “Yes, it has.”

                Lee’s friend TenTen informed him they had been assigned to show them around the village. Lee asked where he wanted to go first. Gaara had replied that he wanted to go someplace Naruto liked and Lee had eagerly brought them to a ramen shop. Lee introduced him to a man who was apparently Naruto’s old teacher and their group sat to eat together. Lee told him exciting stories of all his training escapades recently. Gaara had seen bits and pieces of some stories because of Lee’s words on his skin, but it felt much better getting the whole story from the excited Leaf Nin.

                As he spent the day with him, it was pretty obvious Lee had cheered back up to his usual self. He was bubbly and bouncy with excitement and sharing wonderful stories and ideas for presents. This was the Lee Gaara knew. Of course, when Lee agreed with Kankuro that he needed to dance, he wasn’t exactly happy for the enthusiasm.

                At the end of the day the Kage summit had lasted longer than expected and Lee had immediately offered for him to stay with him.

                “Are you sure? I still don’t sleep much. I don’ want to keep you up…”

                Lee waved his concern away. “I am a heavy sleeper,” he said, “You will be fine.”

                They both sat together on Lee’s roof for a while before going to sleep. The night was quiet and peaceful. Gaara took a moment to look at Lee, noting the calm smile on his face.

                “I’m glad you’re feeling like yourself again,” he said, drawing the black haired ninja’s gaze, “But if you ever need someone to talk to you when you aren’t and remind you who you are, you can always talk to me.”

                Lee closed his eyes and smiled at him, holding his hand palm up toward him. Gaara took it without a word.

                “And if you ever feel yourself slipping back, know that you are not alone. I am only a few words away.”

\-----`---------`-------

                Lee had been training when he felt the tingle across his neck. He had never gotten words appearing there before. He paused, yanked his jumpsuit’s turtleneck down, and called TenTen over.

                “What does it say, TenTen? I can’t see it.” Her face went bright pink and her hands flew up over her mouth. Lee swallowed. “What? TenTen, what does it say!?”

                His female friend had tears pricking in her eyes. “Lee,” she whispered, “It says ‘will you marry me’!”

                Eyes wide, Lee couldn’t hold back the smile spreading across his face.

                “Yes!” he shouted, jumping to his feet, “Yes, Gaara, yes! Of course I will!”

                TenTen hugged Lee tight and they both laughed and cried together. “We have to go show Guy Sensei!” TenTen said. Lee nodded and they both sprinted through the village.

                “Guy sensei! Guy sensei!” he jumped over five steps at a time as he made his way into Kakashi sensei’s house. “Guy sensei!!”

                “Lee? What is it my youthful student?”

                Lee physically tore his jumpsuit and pointed at his neck. “Gaara asked me to marry him!”

                Kakashi had been reading from his own seat a little ways away, but had quickly looked up when Lee made his announcement. Guy stared at the words on Lee’s neck for a solid fifteen seconds before he burst into tears of joy and yanked Lee down into a big hug.

                “Oh Lee!” he wailed, “I’m so happy for you! I knew the day would come! My boy! Oh, Lee!”

\-----`---------`-------

                Lee didn’t need to feel the tingle as he and Gaara rested together in the Kazekage’s personal bedroom, but he felt it all the same as Gaara spoke.

                “Do you think I would make a good father?”

                The Leaf Nin blinked at him and looked at his husband with a frown. “Why wouldn’t you think you would?”

                Gaara worried his lower lip and Lee sat up on his elbows to look at him. He rubbed his unbandaged fingers over his husband’s cheek. “I’ve seen all the words since you were six. Whatever is worrying you, you can tell me.”

                The red head sighed. “I spent my whole childhood not knowing a father’s love… any love, really… I worry my lack of experience will make me a poor father.”

                Lee’s hand continued to caress Gaara’s cheek. “You’ve learned so much about love throughout your life, Gaara,” he said, “And do not worry, I never knew either of my parents, so you will not be any worse than I.”

                “You had Guy,” Gaara argued, frowning at his husband.

                “That is true,” Lee hummed. They lay together in silence for a long moment. “I suppose we’ll both be learning together…”

\-----`---------`-------

                He had been working to finish an awful amount of paperwork. It had taken longer than he wanted, but Gaara felt a soft tingling and he took a moment to pause. Gaara smiled at the words spreading down the length of his arm.

_“Okay, Metal, Shinki, it’s time for bed.”_

_“Your father will be home once he’s done with work.”_

_“No, you cannot stay up and wait for him.”_

_“If you both go to sleep I promise to wake you when he gets home.”_

_“Yes, you can sleep in our bed.”_

                He chuckled to himself. Metal and Shinki. Their sons were insatiable. Always wanting to spend time with their parents. They never wanted to go to bed until both their fathers were home with them.

                “Lee, tell them I’ll be home in ten minutes. They can stay up with you until then.”

_“Ah, you see? There he is right now!”_

_“The words?”_

_“Well, boys, you see, your father and I are soulmates. We can each see every word the other says.”_

_“No, they appear on our skin like this. You’ve seen them before when we take baths together or when we go swimming when we visit the Hidden Leaf village.”_

_“Yes, I’m sure you both will find soulmates of your own.”_

_“How long has…?”_

_“Your father’s words have been showing up on me since I was seven. Long before I had ever even met him.”_

_“The first time your father noticed my words, he was twelve years old.”_

_“Not everyone sees their soulmate’s words at the same time. But once you do see them, they are a constant in your life forever. That way neither of you can ever truly be alone.”_


End file.
